WIRES was invited to Aussie Ark for the official opening of their 400 hectare Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary on the 26th November 2020, joining Aussie Ark President Tim Faulkner, Aussie Ark staff, other partners and Joe Thompson from the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation, to celebrate the opening.
Official Opening of Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary © WIRES
Following the horrific devastation to biodiversity and wildlife last summer, caused by the worst fires in modern history, WIRES has been partnering with major partners including Aussie Ark, on critical projects to support species and habitat recovery. WIRES provided over 1 million dollars to Aussie Ark to help support their conservation work with 15 threatened species and 3 bushfire recovery and habitat projects.
Early in October Aussie Ark delivered a major milestone with the release of 11 Tasmanian Devils into the sanctuary, marking the return of this species to the mainland for the first time in around 3,000 years.
As part of the official opening in November, a wide range of species were released into the sanctuary, to live within the 400 hectares of protected habitat, including: Eastern Quolls, Long-nosed Potoroos, Rufous Bettongs and Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies. The sanctuary is also home to other threatened species including Koalas and Greater Gliders.
Eastern Quolls are classified as endangered and Aussie Ark have the largest insurance population of Eastern Quolls on the mainland. This Eastern Quoll hesitated only for a moment post release, before disappearing swiftly into the sanctuary.
